Xbox

AOC presents the first monitor in the AGON 7 series that promises to be fully optimized for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S

by

AOC has presented its new gaming monitor, the first in the range AGON 7 which undoubtedly has a very attractive technical sheet for users looking to get the most out of their computers and even consoles. Its price, however, starts from the recommended 899 euros (on the official website), while it is currently sold out in supplier stores such as Amazon or MediaMarkt. Now, let’s take a look at its specifications. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A monitor with Dual Frame Mode The AGON PRO AGP277QKDC is a monitor clearly oriented towards gaming that comes with a 26.5-inch diagonal and a panel with technology Tandem WOLEDpromising colors with good depth. In practice, this is attractive especially for cinematic video games. The interesting thing about its panel is that it has Dual Frame Mode technology, which allows you to select between two modes in which we will find a variation in hertz and resolution. In this way, we have: Dual Frame Mode 540 Hz and QHD resolution. Dual Frame Mode 720 Hz and HD resolution. In any case, we are talking about two quite attractive modes, especially when it comes to the refresh rate. Additionally, the brand promises that the monitor reaches a brightness of up to 1,5000 nits and it is fully optimized for both PlayStation 5 as for Xbox Series X/S. It is also worth noting that, as AOC mentions, the monitor offers a response time of 0.03 ms, an ideal figure for competitive games. It is compatible with technology Nvidia G-Sync to avoid image cuts or other image problems and comes equipped with a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports, a DisplayPort 2.1 port and a USB-C port with 65W power. Furthermore, it is also important to mention that this monitor is compatible with VESA mountsalthough it includes its own base that offers a height adjustment of 150 mm, tilt and swivel configuration and 90º rotation. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: AGON PRO AGP277QKDC ✅ THE BEST Your screen: It offers very good quality and promises to have a good level of brightness. Its dual mode to choose the refresh rate and resolution. Its HDMI, DisplayPort and USB-C ports. ❌ THE WORST Its price and stock: It is an expensive monitor and is sold out in stores like MediaMarkt and Amazon. 💡 BUY IT IF… You are looking for a good gaming monitor for competitive video games that stands out above all for its refresh rate, as well as its ports. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You don’t want to play competitive video games, since there are cheaper models that, despite having more modest specifications, also offer a great gaming experience. You may also be interested Philips EVNIA 27M2N8500 Gaming Monitor 27″ QHD, 360Hz, QD-OLED, 0.03 ms GtG, HDR400 Trueblack, Adaptive Sync., G-Sync Compat., Speakers, Adjustable Height (2X HDMI 2.1, 1x DP 1.4, USB-Hub) White The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 G93SD 49″, DQHD, 5120×1440, 240Hz, 0.03ms(GTG), 32:9, 1,000,000:1, FreeSync Premium Pro, 250 CD/m², HDMI, HDR10, Pleated, LS49DG934SUXEN The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Linus Mimietz in UnsplashA.O.C. In Xataka | Best ultrabooks (2026). Which one to buy and 11 recommended light laptops from 500 to 2,000 euros In Xataka | Best gaming laptops in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and six recommended models

Microsoft wants to preserve Xbox games and has chosen an unexpected path: officially emulate them on Windows

by

The video game industry advances with a speed that does not always leave room to look back. New consoles arrive, stores are renewed and the physical format loses ground, while a part of the old catalog remains linked to systems, accounts and services that do not last forever. Who have tried return to a game from decades ago We know that keeping it does not necessarily mean being able to execute it. That is the point at which preservation stops being just a concern of archives and museums. In that context, Microsoft has chosen an unusual formula to recover part of its history: bring games from the first Xbox to Windows 11 without converting them into remakes or native versions for PC. The American firm assures that this launch marks the beginning of a broader preservation effort, although, as we will see, this is a limited test. There is also another detail that changes the magnitude of the announcement: the technical means by which these games can work on current hardware. Let’s see. For now, the program does not open the entire Xbox historical catalog nor does it allow you to run any old games on Windows. The starting point is not a broad collection, but four specific games with which Microsoft begins to convey a part of history from Xbox to Windows. The company has not yet detailed which titles will arrive next or at what rate the catalog will grow. For now, these are the ones chosen: ‘BLiNX: The Time Sweeper’ ‘Conker: Live and Reloaded’ ‘Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge’ ‘Fuzion Frenzy’ As we say, what comes to Windows are not conventional remasters or adaptations remade game by game. As confirmed by Microsoft to PC GamerXbox uses emulation to reproduce on a modern computer the environment necessary to run software designed for its first console. This solution maintains the original gameplay, but allows improvements to be added such as VSyncup to four times resolution rescaling, anisotropic filtering and enhanced antialiasing. Users can also choose between full screen and windowed modes, as well as configure language and audio. The initiative is not limited to the desktop computer either. Titles can be installed on Windows 11 compatible portable devices, including ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally Xwithout necessarily depending on cloud gaming. Minimum requirements are modest for current hardware: 8 GB of RAM, a Core i3-8100, Ryzen 3 1200 or Ryzen Z2 A, and graphics equivalent to a GTX 950, Radeon RX 550, Intel UHD 770 or Arc A310. From a favorable perspective, the progress is difficult to ignore. Microsoft is prolonging the useful life of works that until now remained linked to Xbox hardware and its backward compatibility system on later consoles, and bringing them closer to players who may never have had those machines. The problem appears when we go from retaining access to retaining a copy. Microsoft has not announced standalone installers or versions without DRM, the system used to control and verify digital licenses. Nor has it detailed what checks these four games will require, how long they will be able to work offline or whether they will still be available for download in, say, ten years. We do know that your access depends on Windows 11, the Xbox app and a license linked to our account. It is an important difference compared to GOG, which allows you to download DRM-free backup installers and save the files to install without using your application. All of this occurs while the industry reduces independent avenues of access to its catalogs. Nintendo closed in March 2023 digital purchases of Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, although for now it maintains the possibility of redownloading the purchased content. Sony, for its part, has announced that he will leave to produce discs for all new PlayStation games from January 2028. These are two different decisions, but both remember that the availability of a digital work ultimately depends on the continuity of a platform and the conditions established by its owner. Images | Xbox In Xataka | Video game preservation has already been mortally wounded with Sony. The next blow comes from an entire country: Germany

The new Razer headphones dedicated to PlayStation and Xbox arrive that promise ultra-low latency and surround sound

by

What headphones do you use to play the console? If until now you were not using any model or if you have simply been wanting to renew the ones you already have for a while, pay attention because Razer has launched its Razer Hammerhead V3X HyperSpeed in PlayStation and Xbox edition. Of course, be careful not to get confused because they have arrived in two different versions: Razer Hammerhead V3X HyperSpeed ​​(PlayStation) by 109.99 euros. Razer Hammerhead V3X HyperSpeed ​​(Xbox) by 109.99 euros. Razer Hammerhead V3 X HyperSpeed ​​(PlayStation) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Razer Hammerhead V3 X HyperSpeed ​​(Xbox) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links New Razer headsets for PlayStation and Xbox The Razer Hammerhead V3 TWS Bluetooth headphones that stand out mainly because the brand promises a ultra low latencysomething important to have a good experience and that the audio does not have delay when listening to the sound through the headphones. The funny thing is that these headphones can be used through your Bluetooth connectivity or via the 2.4 GHz network. For the latter, the charging case works as a receiver so that the connection is stable and with lower latency. Obviously, the case also serves to recharge the headphones’ battery, offering, according to the brand, an autonomy of up to 35 hours. The headphones work with Bluetooth 5.3 to ensure better connection stability and greater range. They also have IPX4 certification with water resistance (specifically water jets) and come with touch controls on the headphones themselves. On the other hand, the Razer Hammerhead V3 immersive experience being compatible with Windows Sonic on Xbox, 3D audio on PlayStation and THX Spatial Audio on PC. The Razer Hammerhead V3 X HyperSpeed ​​are now available in two versions for PlayStation and Xbox. They can even be purchased from supplier stores such as Amazon. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: Razer Hammerhead V3 X HyperSpeed ✅ THE BEST Your connectivity– Can be used via Bluetooth 5.3 or 2.4 GHz connection. Its theoretical autonomy: Up to 10 hours with the earbuds and up to 35 with the charging case. ❌ THE WORST They do not have multipoint connection (Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz). 💡 BUY IT IF… You are looking for Bluetooth headphones to play the console that are comfortable, offer immersive sound and ultra-low latency. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You want the immersive experience that over-ear headphones offer, especially because of the passive noise isolation. You may also be interested Sony INZONE Buds, True Wireless Gaming Headphones, Low Latency Transceiver, Compatible with PC and PS5, 360 Spatial Sound, Light and Comfortable, Noise Cancelling, AI Microphone, 24 Hour Battery The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Xbox Wireless Headset Forza Horizon 6 Limited Edition Series X|S, One, PC and Cloud-Enabled Devices The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Razer In Xataka | Best Bluetooth speakers in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and seven recommended models In Xataka | Best sound bars in quality price (2026). Which one to buy and seven recommended models from 99 euros

Xbox wants to have 1 billion players a day. It’s what 25 Steam would do on their best day

by

Another day in the video game industry, this Monday Microsoft announced layoffs at Xbox. 1,600 at once, five studios to make a living and another 1,600 layoffs over the next few months. To carry out the restructuring, what is known as “Xbox reset”Microsoft put Asha Sharma at the head of the company who came from one of the company’s AI divisions and who arrived with a clear mission: to break with the past. After weeks of good words, drastic decisions began and, in a release gigantic, justified the decisions of layoffs and restructuring (the consequences of which we still do not fully know, since we have been learning about layoffs in different Xbox studios for two days). There are interesting data, such as extreme bureaucracy within Xbox that had complicated things in recent years, the enormous investment in Game Pass and the fact that caught my attention the most: the number of daily players that Xbox wants. Because Sharma talks about wanting a billion people to be “entertained” with Xbox every day. And, after wondering what it means to have a billion people every day on your platform, I have only been able to come to one conclusion: I would like to see how they do it. The Xbox of a billion players and the old woman’s account I don’t say this in a defiant sense, but out of genuine curiosity. I would like to see how Xbox, or any company, for that matter, is able to bring together a billion people a day on its platform. Sharma comments that they see themselves capable of achieving that goalbut the point is that there are many more stimuli than ever and, furthermore, setting these goals only has one consequence: when they are not met, there will be more ‘resets’. Let’s go in parts. The changes they are making seek to ensure that “Xbox has a bigger future, not a smaller one.” Furthermore, he notes that “the next decade of games will be bigger, more global and more creative than anything we’ve seen before.” Said like this, you may think that they are going to invest a lot (they themselves say that they are going to invest a lot, but with a better focus and discipline), but there is a problem: are there really that many players willing to be on your platform? What is an Xbox? Answering the first question, players… there are. We are more than 8,000 million people throughout the world and esteem what’s there around 3 billion people who play video games. This in total, not on a daily basis and, furthermore, you must keep in mind that everything is mixed here: the accounts include everything from the most ‘Eat’ of ‘Call of Duty’ to your grandfather who plays ‘Candy Crush’ or a Facebook game. Responding to the second, Sharma says they want a billion people entertained with Xbox. And not only those who have a console count (whose sales are quite poor), but also those who play from PC and Xbox games on Steam and platforms like PS5. That is, everything that has the Xbox seal. That said, let’s tell why one billion people seem to get it “easy” Yes, you have so many franchises and you are present everywhere, but things get complicated if we put the magnifying glass on the few games that can really help the company achieve those figures. They are all estimates, but we would talk about 110 million monthly players in ‘Minecraft’, between 70 and 90 million (counting mobile phones) monthly in ‘Call of Duty’ and between 200 and 300 million players diaries in ‘Candy Crush’. There we see the dimension of mobile games, really, and how they crush those on more traditional platforms. ‘World of Warcraft’ too would enter there, with about 9 million monthly players. These are figures that many companies would like, but they are far from those 1,000 million a day that Sharma points to. To further contextualize, Steam, which is another of the huge video game platforms, had its historical peak of players a few months ago, reaching more than 42 million. In the last 24 hours, almost 39 million people connected and, as we see in graphs like Steamdb, they are very stable… and in growth. Well, Sharma wants the same as they would get 25 Steams every day. As a player, I would love to have so many people because it would allow, perhaps, the industry to be somewhat more sustainable because there would be many more players among which smaller studios could find their place to grow, but the problem I see with these accounts is that, publishing that you want there to be 1,000 million people on your platform, the only result (the most likely, at least) is failure. And when you fail in such a large company when you have set this as an objective, the manager is not the one who pays the bill: it is the employees. It’s something we see constantly and We come from three years of constant layoffs in the industry to be optimistic about the issue. What we have seen these days is that they are changing the strategy in that sense. They are releasing the smaller studios that do not sell to bet on what makes money. An example is King (‘Candy Crush’) and Mojang (‘Minecraft’), which They will report directly to herwith Sharma being the one who will make the decisions to achieve the objective. Another thing is whether people who watch the ‘Fallout’ series, a game series whose license belongs to Xbox, count as “people entertained by Xbox.” We just have to wait and see what happens, but it is evident that Xbox’s turnaround is there, releasing studios that were developing games with soul to bet on what makes money. After all, it is the objective of every company. In Xataka | The best time to buy an electronic device was yesterday. The second best time is today

The Xbox CEO promised a big Xbox reset. That translates into 3,200 layoffs and five studios looking for a new home

by

Asha Sharma, the new CEO of Xbox, arrived with the ax ready and prepared to cut off heads and, after days of rumors about layoffs and closure of studieswe already have the conclusion. It was expected that this July 6 we would have news about the restructuring of Xbox, the so-called ‘reset’ of the divisionand the figure that draws attention is the 3,200 people who will lose their jobs. That is not, by any means, the end of the story because since Bloomberg It is pointing to two very hard months for employees, although also a positive note with regard to some of the most reputable studios that it had purchased in recent years. Asha Sharma and the great Xbox reset Jason Schreier is one of the most reliable journalists in the video game industry and, as he points out in Bloomberg, in an internal email from Asha Sharma to the members of the company, the CEO ensures that the business “it is not profitable”. Sharma comments that Xbox needs to be “restarted” because they are operating with margins three to ten times lower than comparable businesses. It is not the first time that Sharma alludes to the disastrous situation of Xbox because the company’s profit margin had fallen to 3% (not that they were losing 3%, but it had fallen, but they were still making money), and after all the motivational messages, the new Xbox commandments and changing the name of the division to XBOX with capital letters, the conclusion to reverse the situation is that drastic decisions had to be made. According to Schreier, and as has been filtered, Starting today, 1,600 jobs will be eliminatedwhile it will execute another 1,600 over the coming months. In total, 3,200 layoffs at Xbox alone while Microsoft is also cutting 3,200 positions in other sections away from Xbox. 6,400 people sounds outrageous, but it is just 3% of a workforce of 228,000 people. They are not definitive figures, since Microsoft ensures that They are still in the early stages of the journey. and that there will be more changes ahead in an exercise in austerity to bet on the only thing that seems to excite companies: artificial intelligence. But beyond eliminating so many jobs, the big question of what will happen to the studies was on the table. The state of Xbox studios In recent days there has been talk of several studios that could be closed, sold or “released” and at Xataka we have stayed away from those rumors, but now Schreier sheds a little light on the matter. It may seem like a consolation for fools, but Xbox seems like it won’t dismantle them. Ninja Theory (creators of ‘Hellblade’ and Undead Labs (‘State of Decay’) will be sold to unspecified buyers. The two studios will continue working for the moment on announced games (Senua’ and ‘State of Decay 3’). Double Fine (Psychonauts’) and Compulsion Games (‘South of Midnight’) will separate and become private studios again. Sharma assures that the two will retain their intellectual properties (thank goodness), but things look uncertain for Arkane Lyon. The studio is developing a ‘Blade’ game, but Microsoft is “reviewing possible strategic options to sell or spin off the studio). Why is things not clear with Arkane? Because French laws protect more than American ones and Microsoft is exploring the avenues it has. These five studies were never bestsellers, but They were purchased under the management of Phil Spencer to ‘fatten up’ the catalog of a recently presented Game Pass and Sharma now notes that “they created significant value, but they did not grow at the rate we expected.” The new CEO’s strategy, in fact, seems different from Phil’s. While under his command many (too many) studies were purchasedSharma points to smaller models of supporting independent creators, alluding to the fact that “it is neither possible nor desirable to own all the large independent studios.” The future of Xbox To finish, Sharma wants Xbox to reach one billion players daily to see a future in which Xbox is bigger, not smaller.” He assures that “this year we will invest as much in Xbox as ever, but with better focus, greater discipline and clarity, all in the service of making Xbox a place where everyone has a place.” At the moment, those who have no room are the 3,200 laid off now, which are added to the thousands laid off by Xbox in the last two years. And we will have to wait to see what happens inside ZeniMax, also owned by Xbox and where the developers of big franchises like ‘Wolfenstein’, ‘Fallout’ or ‘The Elder Scrolls’ are located. We will also have to wait and see what happens to studios that become independent because it is not exactly good news. Without the Microsoft umbrella, it may be difficult for those studios to keep all employees, so be cautious with the futures of Double Fine and Compulsion. In short, another sad day for the video game industry. In Xataka | Sony has told you why it stops selling games in physical format. The real reason, of course, is the same as always: money

Sony won the most important generation by humiliating Xbox with physical games. 13 years later he killed them

by

Sony has just taken a stab at video games in physical format. Those discs that allowed PlayStation to build its empire with CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray on consoles like PS1, PS2 and PS3now they have a death date. Starting January 2028, there will be no more physical games for PlayStation consoles. The reactions have not been long in coming, with all industry players pointing out the impact of this decision. We will not own games because they are licenses, worry from small publishers, death to second hand and abandoning games and all because of a decision that makes industrial sense: absolute control by Sony in the distribution of games, their price and the margin they leave in their store. But since the newspaper archive is very bloody, it didn’t take long for those who, like myself yesterday, to remember a certain moment from E3 2013 to appear: the same moment in which PlayStation 4 won the competition Xbox One with three very simple decisions, but they disrupted Microsoft’s plans. Because it was at that same moment that PlayStation won the generation. And as the Xbox boss confessed some time later, they lost the worst generation that could be lost in the field of consoles. The battlefield? Physical games, the same ones that today have an expiration date. When you lose the worst generation you can lose June 2013, E3 plenary session. The great video game fair was preparing for a generational event. Both Sono and Microsoft had teased some features of the PS4 and Xbox One respectively in advance, but on June 10, the Xbox One would show off games and pricing, and on the same day but a few hours later, Sony would do the same for the PS4. What no one expected was what was about to happen. Xbox One already had controversies behind it due to the fact that the machine had been presented more as an entertainment system (with an emphasis on watching television on it) than as a console. Besides, in a gross communication failureit was also noted that the discs needed online verification every few hours for Microsoft to verify that the game was yours. This meant that if you didn’t have Internet, you might not be able to play your games, and the division’s boss himself sent out the message. “If you don’t have Internet access, we have a product for you. It’s called Xbox 360”. When you present your new machine, it is not elegant to say that if someone doesn’t want it, they have the old one because the easiest thing that can happen is that they end up looking at the competition. And the competition… tightened. After the mess with the verification of physical copies on Xbox One, Sony attacked. During his conference, starting at the hour and 57 minute mark, Jack Tretton, who was COO of Sony Computer Entertainment, spent a few minutes stating that they believed in the physical format, in sharing and reselling your games on disc and in doing whatever you wanted with them. Of course, there would be no ‘online check’ to verify the discs either. He won a lot of applause with the speech that you can see here: That moment, added to the fact that PS4 was going to cost 100 euros less than the confusing Xbox One, marked the generation, but there was more blood. On the same day of the presentation, PlayStation recorded a video in which two of its heavyweights did a complete tutorial of what the process of leaving games between PS4 users was going to be like. It is one of the most iconic moments of these fairs and one of the last moments I remember in which one company went so hard against another in this console thing: The previous generation, the PS3 and Xbox 360, ended with the two machines selling a very similar number of units, but the PS4 and Xbox One began with the Sony machine sweeping sales. Xbox retracted its policiesbut it was late and when Phil Spencer took the reins of the division and started making moves (lower the price, remove mandatory Kinect, etc.), it was… well, that’s it: late. Xbox One sold so little that Microsoft made the decision to stop providing data on consoles sold. When that happens, things go wrong because everyone likes to stick out their chests when the wind is in their favor, and a few years later, Spencer himself commented that they lost the generation they shouldn’t lose. “We lost the worst generation you could lose, the one where everyone built their digital games library” – Phil Spencer Among their arguments, one made all the sense in the world: the PS4 and Xbox One was the generation of change, of the change from physical to digital, of the change from a model of consoles that were a blank canvas to one in which people wanted to continue playing their games from past generations. And, above all, the generation in which it was more important than ever to provide continuity to that digital ecosystem. Spencer summarized with the phrase “we lost the worst generation that could be lost, the one in which everyone built their library of digital games.” As I say, it makes perfect sense because if you went from an Xbox 360 to a new console, it didn’t matter to you because there was no backward compatibility (it was added later in the case of Xbox). You had to start from scratch, and the same if you went from PS3 to PS4. Therefore, Xbox 360 users who were not happy with the new policies were able to switch to PS4 without fear of losing anything because there was nothing to lose. However, as On PS4 and Xbox One the digital ecosystem began to developusers began to buy more and more games in that format. If you had a PS4 with an account in which you had invested money in dozens of games, it was … Read more

In three days we have seen crazy prices on hardware from Apple, Xbox and Valve. Obviously, these are not isolated events.

by

Three pieces of news about hardware price increases or announcements in three days, and all three have met with open rejection from the public. Valve confirms that its new console costs more than 1,000 euros (or much more, depending on the model). Apple raises all its Macs and iPads by 20% on average. Microsoft announces the third Xbox increase in fourteen months. And they all give the same reason, which has been causing the tech industry to convulse for months. The worst: at the moment there is no light at the end of the tunnel. The prices. This past Monday, June 22, Valve wakefulness the final price of its long-awaited Steam Machine: 1,039 euros for the 512 GB model without controller. And that is the economic option. On Thursday morning the 25th, Apple updated their online store with increases of 15 to 20% on all Macs and iPads; The MacBook Air went from 1,099 to 1,299 euros, and the MacBook Neo, the entry-level laptop that the company introduced in March at $599, rose to $699. hours laterMicrosoft: Xbox Series S and Series The reason, which has now become sadly familiar: the RAM and storage crisis. Who is to blame. Neither Apple, Microsoft nor Valve are responsible for this situation. They are the three manufacturers that produce 90% of the world’s DRAM: Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron. They have all made the same decision: prioritize contracts with artificial intelligence data centers over the consumer market. Micron, for example, closed its consumer division in 2025 (the Crucial brand) to redirect its capacity towards industrial customers. SK Hynix, Nvidia’s main supplier, stated that Its production for this year was completely sold. The pressures. A Valve spokesperson described it bluntly in an interview: “They give us a price every month and then they say ‘you can buy this amount’ and it’s a yes or no. And if we say no, they never talk to us again.” It is the same scheme for all companies, just with different consequences depending on the size of the order. Apple has room to negotiate because it sells tens of millions of units a year. Valve, not so much: its hardware volume is incomparably smaller. But the result is similar: the costs have been shot until they cannot be absorbed internally. Tim Cook acknowledged it before the announcement: the situation is already “unsustainable.” Why consoles pay more. Significantly, consoles are especially vulnerable to this crisis. Unlike a MacBook or a phone, consoles have historically sold below their manufacturing cost, assuming that lRevenue from games and subscriptions will cover the difference over time. Microsoft explained it very light: “Unlike phones, computers and other devices, consoles are generally not sold at a profit, but for less than it costs to make them.” That model works when component costs are predictable, but if RAM rises without being possible to anticipate, the market is thrown into chaos. For example, Nintendo is paying 41% more for 12 GB of RAM which includes each unit of Switch 2 with respect to the original projections. Maintaining the sales price in that scenario would mean a loss of $50 per console sold. The case of Xbox is even more striking because it does not stop accumulating increases. The first in May 2025, the second in October of that same year and now this third. According to Microsoft, the cost of console storage and memory “has increased more than 2.5 times” since the last revision. Valve in trouble. The component crisis applied to consumer hardware has hit Valve with particular fury. The Steam Machine was announced in November 2025 pricelesswith internal projections that placed it around 700-800 dollars. The company explains which was based on years of data on the evolution of PC hardware prices, which “tend to go down over time as new technology arrives.” But just the opposite happened: when DRAM manufacturers redirected their capacity towards AI, Valve stopped getting stable prices for its components. Every month a new price arrives; either it is accepted or there is no supply. There is one detail in the launch that illustrates the precarious supply better than any figure: some Steam Machine units are shipping to analysts with a single 16 GB RAM module, while others arrive with two 8 GB modules. The situation has reached the point that the same type of module is not always available. How long will things last? Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said it no room for optimism in the Q3 fiscal 2026 earnings report: “We expect shortage conditions to persist beyond 2027 as a result of AI-driven demand across all segments, coupled with structural supply constraints.” He added that even with a gradual improvement planned for 2028, “there is currently no visibility on when memory supply will be able to catch up with growing demand.” Microsoft, for its part, expects “another doubling” of console storage and memory prices by fall 2027. The consequences beyond the current moment are already beginning to become clear. sony consider delaying the launch of PS6 until 2028 or 2029which would make this period between PlayStation generations the longest in its history. And even when the shortage moderates, no price drops expected: the new level of costs will tend to stabilize, not reverse. That is to say, the week we have just experienced, more than an occasional tsunami, is the advance of a new pricing structure for consumer hardware. In Xataka | Intel and AMD are setting their prices through the roof, so the TikTok company has decided to create its own chip

Microsoft has just announced a global increase in its Xbox consoles and gives its reasons

by

If we thought that the rise of PS5the announced price for the Steam Machine or the increase in the price of several Apple products They were isolated episodes, the answer is beginning to be quite clear: they were not. What we are seeing is a cost pressure that no longer remains within the data centers or in the internal accounts of the manufacturers. It’s coming to devices we know well, from computers to consoles. And now it’s Xbox’s turn. Microsoft has set a date to the next move: the adjustment will take effect on August 1, 2026 and will have global scope. According to the company, 512 GB Xbox consoles will increase by $100, while 1 TB models will become more expensive by $150. The other relevant decision is that Microsoft will stop selling its 2 TB model, a recall that affects the Xbox Series X Galaxy Black Special Edition. The clearest way to read the rise is to separate markets. In USA We can now take the complete photo, because we have the current price and the result of applying the increase announced by Microsoft. In Europe, however, there is still no new official table in euros for August. What is confirmed is that the adjustment will be global, so it will also reach Spain. United States, current price and price since August 1, 2026 Xbox Series S 512 GB: $399.99 to $499.99 Xbox Series S 1TB: $449.99 to $599.99 Xbox Series X Digital 1TB: $599.99 to $749.99 Xbox Series X 1TB: $649.99 to $799.99 Xbox Series X 2 TB Galaxy Black Special Edition: Microsoft will stop selling this model Europe and Spain, official prices valid from May 2025 Xbox Series S 512 GB: 349.99 euros Xbox Series S 1 TB: 399.99 euros Xbox Series X Digital 1 TB: 549.99 euros Xbox Series X 1 TB: 599.99 euros Xbox Series X 2 TB Galaxy Black Special Edition: 699.99 euros, although the model will disappear from the catalog Microsoft does not present the increase as a decision taken lightly. In its statement, the company recalls that in October 2025 it already raised the price of Xboxes in the United States between $20 and $70, and states that “We hoped it wasn’t necessary.“apply another increase. The problem, according to their version, is in the costs of memory and storage, which have become more than 2.5 times more expensive and could double again by autumn 2027. The company frames the movement within a component crisis that affects consumer electronics, but that hits consoles hardest because, according to Microsoft, they tend to be sold below what it costs to manufacture them. Memory has become the new bottleneck Microsoft doesn’t directly mention artificial intelligence in its statement, but the market context helps explain why memory and storage have become a bigger issue. The Wall Street Journal has described the massive deployment of data centers as a new engine of inflationary pressurewith impact on components, electricity and consumer products. TrendForce has also noted that demand linked to AI is absorbing memory and storage capacity. Now, the Redmond firm is trying to accompany the rise with several ways to soften the blow to the buyer. They talk about deferred payment options in the Microsoft Store, interest-free financing for up to 12 months on eligible purchases through Amazon, buyback programs with retail partners and more availability of certified refurbished consoles. It also mentions that refurbished Xboxes can be found in the Microsoft Store with up to $100 off the recommended price. The fine print matters: These options vary by region, depend on third parties, and are subject to eligibility conditions. The bottom line is that the old cheap console logicsold with little margin to recover later in games and services, is colliding with a different reality. If memory, storage and other components become more expensive due to a demand that does not depend only on the video game, the manufacturer has less room to absorb the blow. At the end of the day, we consumers are the ones who end up paying the price. We have to wait to see what other movements of this type will occur in the industry. Images | Microsoft In Xataka | “If you tell them no, they won’t talk to you again”: Valve blames RAM manufacturers for the price of the Steam Machine

The price of Steam Machine was predictable. The worrying thing is what it tells us about PS6 and Xbox Helix

by

After announcing it in November of last year and keeping it in a dangerous limbo due to component crisisValve has confirmed the Steam Machine priceending weeks of rumors with a result that surprises few. that the Steam Machine had ballots to cost 1,000 euros, it was not a surprise (and even more so after the stratospheric Steam Deck price increase), but the worst is what is advancing for the next generation of consoles. Nails PS6 and Xbox Helix that they should be a generational leap and that are being given the price of the most expensive consoles in history. The 1,000 euros. When Valve announced the PC, it did so without a price. He invited experts to his offices so they could try out some games, see the machine both inside and out, and experience what the new Steam Machine could do (because there were already some that They failed more than a decade ago) could offer. The price debate immediately arose and, when doing the math, it was estimated among the 600 and 800 euros in the most pessimistic estimate. Reality has ended up far exceeding that forecast because the 1,039 euros are for the version with 512 GB of storage, the 2 TB version goes to 1,359 euros and then you have a pack with the controller for both configurations. Clearly, it is a very high price and, although it has the advantage of the form factor and a dissipation that seems very efficient, there are no performance advantages over a piece-based PC. It’s not ‘next gen’. Because, beyond the price, something that is being discussed is that the performance is nothing like the other Thursday either. Gamer Nexus either Digital Foundry They have already been able to get their hands on the system and the conclusion is that the performance (roughly) is similar to a 12 GB RTX 3060, an RTX 3050, an Arc A770 or an RX 6600. We are not talking about cutting-edge hardware at all. Not at all. It’s something that depends on the game and its optimization, but that’s where the shots go. And, if we want a simpler comparison, putting it next to a PS5 In performance mode (prioritizes FPS rate), making the game’s visual specs on Steam Machine match those of PS5, performance is very, very similar. Sometimes above PS5, sometimes below. We are talking about the base PS5, the one from 2020, not the PS5 Pro. More than 1,000 euros to move around the performance of a six-year-old machine is not good news. Steam Machine vs PS5 in ‘Forza Horizon 5’. Screenshot of the Digital Foundry video Steam Machine vs PS5 in ‘007 First Light’. Screenshot of the Digital Foundry video Steam Machine vs PS5 in ‘Black Myth Wukong’. Screenshot of the Digital Foundry video Steam Machine vs PS5 in ‘Alan Wake 2’. Screenshot of the Digital Foundry video Steam Machine vs PS5 in ‘Crimson Desert’. Screenshot of the Digital Foundry video PS6 and Xbox Helix, when. The more than 1,000 euros with the component crisis (which will last a few more years) no one will lower it to us anymore, but… what about the new generation consoles? We have been in the current generation for six years and it is an open secret (in the case of Xbox it is not even a secret) that both Microsoft and Sony are working on their new machines. If everything had continued as it seemed, PS6 and Helix should have seen the light between 2027 and 2028. PS5 has a good sales pace with 90 million units sold and ‘GTA VI‘ is postulated as that title that will allow the Sony machine to have a final run before the next generation. The problem is the same one that Valve has faced: the component crisis. A few weeks ago, Asha Sharma, CEO of Xbox, pointed out that at the beginning of 2027 they would send the Helix development kits to companies, which indicates that we would see the machine at the end of the year or the beginning of 2028 and something more important: the console was going to be expensive. Rposing things. Since then, the wheel has continued to turn and Microsoft itself has spoken again about Helix, pointing out that what they wanted to achieve at the hardware level was getting out of hand because it is more expensive every day to set up a platform. Sharma commented that mass audiences “won’t spend thousands of dollars on a new generation of consoles,” so they were rethinking things with “radically different business models,” whatever that means. What is clear is that assembling a console that represents a generational leap compared to what we have had since 2020 is not cheap for companies that have to calculate the price/performance ratio very well and, although consoles are not the main source of income for the video game divisions of Sony and Microsoft, they cannot go to wild losses either. Hold on a little longer. The bad thing is that hope is not something that is in the equation at a time when we see that a machine like the Steam Machine, with its more than 1,000 euros, hopefully equals the performance of a base PS5. And that anticipates two futures: new consoles that are more powerful and much more expensive than current ones or hybrid consoles that rely on streaming gaming, which would further complicate the already damaged preservation scene. A third option? May both Microsoft and Sony hold on to their current generation a little longer. It is something that would be easier for Sony, which has the PS5 Pro on the market and much more stock than Microsoft, but by holding PS5 longer and delaying PS6 it would be able to take advantage a little more of a current generation that feels wasted in some aspects and, above all, it would be giving the component market time to recover. If not, consoles costing more than 1,000 euros at launch will be … Read more

Xbox anticipates changes beyond Project Helix

by

Yesterday Nintendo closed non-E3. The video game fair as we knew it died a few years agobut its spirit lives on in the form of conferences that take place in the first half of June and in which companies show the news that will arrive on their platforms over the coming months. PlayStation, the aforementioned Nintendo, the Summer Game Fest or the PC Game Show have been some of them, but If there is one that is attracting attention, it is Xbox. And it turns out that he is not talking about his games (many old acquaintances that are now simply dated), but rather because of the change in strategy after the arrival of Asha Sharma as new CEO from Microsoft’s video game division. Because where before there were own games that would even come out for PlayStation, now there are a return to console exclusives. And within those consoles is a Project Helix which, supposedly, will be the new Microsoft machine and that it will not be easy. To the point that they are rethinking what Project Helix should be, how much it should cost or if we are prepared for such expensive consoles. And Asha Sharma adds one more question: a business model we would never have expected and that could start this year. We are going little by little because there is a lot to unpack. From the “can Xbox be fixed?” to a Project Helix that arrives at the worst possible time After a conference like the one we saw on Sunday, it is logical that questions will arise. The entire conversation is revolving around the issue of the return to exclusives, implying that a Microsoft that finds it difficult to maintain stock of its own consoles is abandoning a fleet of Sony consoles that exceeds, by several tens of millions of units, the installed Xbox. Microsoft games on PS5 They operate on a commercial levelwith notable examples such as ‘Forza Horizon 5‘and, above all, ‘Sea of ​​Thieves‘. But Sharma wants Xbox to become number one in gaming and believes that that path passes through the return of the exclusives. It is a somewhat strange maneuver because those first chosen will be ‘Gears of War E-Day‘ (which we later learned was planned for PS5 until a few days ago) and ‘Clockwork Revolution‘. Others like ‘Halo: Campaign Evolved‘for this July 28 or future ones’State of Decay 3‘, ‘Fables‘ and ‘Senua‘yes they will see the light on the Sony console. If nothing changes again, of course. Matt Booty, head of the Xbox games division, warned at the conference that each case will be reviewed individually, implying that they are also not very clear about which games will reach other consoles and which will not. “Do you think Xbox can be fixed?” – Asha Sharma asked Matthew Ball But, in any case and beyond the video games themselves, there is something else floating in the air. We know that Xbox is working on its new console, the aforementioned Helix. It will be a kind of hybrid between console and PC, something that makes a lot of sense if we take into account Microsoft’s business and, above all, that Steam is preparing exactly the same thing with its Steam Machine. A few weeks ago, Asha Sharma commented that the hardware existed and they are closing the details to be able to send the development kits (necessary to start developing the games) to the video game studios at the beginning of next year. He also ‘threatened’ the price, pointing out that Project Helix will not be a cheap machine because the situation with the components is what it is. Hardware that will have a good amount of memory and storage will be very, very expensive. We are seeing it on mobilesrouters and even on the Raspberry Pibut what has scared many of us is the relaunch of a Steam Machine with a premium of almost 300 euros. After being out of stock for months due to out-of-stock due to the supply of components, the machine returned with several hundred euros extra price. This situation did not bode well either for a Steam Machine that, supposedly, will arrive this summer… or for a PS6 and Project Helix that we should see sometime in 2027. Given all the necessary context, let’s go with Matthew Ball. Ball is Xbox’s new head of strategy. He responds to a Sharma who asked him one thing before signing him: Can Xbox be fixed? Ball believes so, rewarding players who have stayed on Xbox with this return of exclusives as a way to “validate the historical investment” of those players. It must be remembered that someone who buys a ‘Forza Horizon 6‘on PS5 he is also an Xbox player, for example, but oh well. About Helix, Ball points out in a interview that it would not make sense for the company to get out of the hardware business and that they are making this return to exclusives, precisely, to strengthen their platform. Now, it also supports what Sharma already said: the next Xbox will arrive in a context in which the AI ​​boom has skyrocketed the cost of components. “I think we will start to see radically different business models that we would never have expected to come into being later this year” – Asha Sharma In addition to pointing out that they cannot produce consoles at the same rate as they are demanded (hence the stock outage in many markets, with Xbox Series X showing a premium because they are not units that Xbox sells directly), points out something interesting: They are fighting to make the console design not be compromised by the situation, but at the same time trying to make it affordable in a context of high costs that are expected to continue for at least the next two and a half years. That is to say: they need to launch a new machine, but one that is not as expensive as the original … Read more

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.